Wednesday, October 24, 2012

People shriek on the streets of Michigan when they see Verlander in person. He can’t stop at a gas pump or go grocery shopping. Everyone knows where he lives in the off-season (Troy), what he eats the night before he pitches (Taco Bell, for three crunchy Taco Supremes, a Cheesy Gordita Crunch and a Mexican Pizza, hold the tomatoes) and where he grabs his morning coffee.

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Am I the only one that things Joseph Gordon Levitt is the best reasonably young actor working today?

I'll admit he probably has the resume and range to be used in almost any kind of movie.

I'm actually having a hard time coming up with many other actors under 30 to make a comparison.
Actresses? No problem, there are lots of them.
Actors? Jesse Eisenberg? Michael Cera? Chris Hemsworth? I'm drawing blanks.

That pretty much locks Levitt as the best in my book (unless I'm missing someone obvious).

Note: JGL is actually 31 years old. Huh. I can't believe he was that annoying kid from "Third Rock from the Sun"

I haven't been all that impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's been in some good movies, but he always strikes me as a fairly bland actor who isn't doing a lot. In Looper, I liked that he did a couple of Bruce Willis mannerisms (instead of doing a full-fledged impression), but he mostly seemed (to me) to be just going through the motions of the plot.

To be fair, I haven't seen 50/50, where he probably gets to show more emotions than in Inception, Premium Rush, and The Dark Knight Returns.

I've been very impressed with Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin, Brick, (500) Days of Summer, 50/50, Inception, Hesher, Dark Knight Rises, and Looper. A lot of VERY different roles, and I think he pulled them all off.

I'm looking forward to seeing him in Lincoln.

How was Premium Rush, by the way? I think that's the only JGL movie I haven't seen.

I've been very impressed with Gordon-Levitt in Mysterious Skin, Brick, (500) Days of Summer, 50/50, Inception, Hesher, Dark Knight Rises, and Looper. A lot of VERY different roles, and I think he pulled them all off.

JGL just now looks old enough to leading male roles. He worked in Brick, but he was 24 playing a high school student. I'm not great at evaluating acting talent (unless someone is really bad or really good, they all seem pretty interchangeable), but I assume he's a good actor because despite still looking like the kid from "Third Rock," he keeps getting great roles.

I never really thought much about J. Gordon-Levitt one way or the other, but he did an opening monologue for SNL that's fantastic: basically it's him recreating Donald O'Connor's rendition of "Make 'em Laugh" from Singing in the Rain - backflips and all, on live TV - and he just nails it.

Jose can date her all he wants. She seems a little dense to me. But I still wouldn't mind hitting it once...

Proof that you can post the most outrageous lies on this site without fear of even temporary ban.

Phone rings.

Boxkutter (chewing on something): Hello?

Kate Upton: Boxkutter? It's Kate!

Boxkutter: Who?

Kate Upton: Kate! Kate ... Upton?

Boxkutter: oh.... Yea. How are you?

Kate Upton: oh, great, jus back from Caribbean, more bikini shots, you know. I had to work out really hard this time, I don't think I've ever been in this great of shape, .... ever.

Boxkutter: oh.... Great.

(long silence)

Kate Upton: So what are you doing today?

Boxkutter: Nothing. Watching.... Televised....Sporting event.

Kate Upton: Cool! Hey, guess what, spur of the moment I flew into your city today, in fact I'm at the airport, no plans really, how bout I come over and help you, you know, watch?

Boxkutter: uhhh, not right now, I have some... Uh, friends over.

Shot of empty couch in Boxkutters apartment.

Kate Upton: Box. Come on. I'm sorry. I really don't know what came over me after Justin lost game 3, it was such a crazy night, you know, with you. I needed time to process, and I was going to call you.

Boxkutter: Oh, no, Kate, it's fine. I didn't expect a call ... it's only been two days anyways.

Kate Upton: No, Box, I do owe you an apology and I want to deliver it in person. You see, I can't stop thinking about that night, and you, and the things we did. The things you did to me....

I need to see you again. Now.

Boxkutter: What did I tell you?! ONE TIME! Don't you ever call me again!

Women, Movies and music. All things tied so much to personal preference, yet spoken on with such absolutism. Humorous.

'Goodfellas' being "too long" is pretty funny. I've never understood why people complain about the running time of something when it's obviously impeccably made and you've enjoyed it.

Penalizing 'Unforgiven' because someone told you or you read someone calling it "groundbreaking" is odd. I believe someone said the same thing of 'Heat'. It's not very often you see 'Heat' not spoken of in glowing terms, let alone be derided. The fact you're disappointed that Mann didn't have DeNiro and Pacino be teamed up as both either Policeman or Bank-robbers is too bad, because you've let it ruin a really good movie for yourself. Surely you found 'Righteous Kill' to be infinitely more pleasing. It's a cop chasing a bank-robber, how many scenes do you expect there to be of the two of them together?

If I complain that a movie is too long, I'm saying that there are unnecessary scenes or the pacing is slow. This goes for books as well. There are artists/writers who would be better served if they edited themselves a bit more. I find William Vollmann to be a pretty compelling writer but his books run too long and their length can be distracting, especially since it can be the result of self indulgence. I find that Paul Thomas Anderson is exceptionally talented, but his movies sometimes meander and then I notice the length. So maybe length is shorthand for more fundamental issues with the movie, but, of course, a movie can be too long.

Harry Cohn ran Columbia Pictures from 30s through the 50s. He lived by the "fanny test" -- if your fanny's wriggling in your seat, it's a bad movie. It follows, then, that if your fanny's wriggling for the last half hour, the movie's too long.

I have just read that apparently Arnold has signed to do a new one- a kind of old conan looking back at his life, which I am super excited by as that was always an aspect of the old comics. I love that original Conan.

Yeah, but Arnold's what, about 4th or 5th on the list of things that make that movie great?

Frankly, if the 1st call the producers of the new movie made wasn't to John Milius, they deserve the failure they're going to have.

I believe someone said the same thing of 'Heat'. It's not very often you see 'Heat' not spoken of in glowing terms, let alone be derided.

I'm watching it right now, and I will happily deride it. Al Pacino is ludicrous in this movie. It's like somebody doing a bad Al Pacino imitation. This is post-Scent of a Woman Pacino and it really, really shows.

I never really liked Heat and never really understood my generation's love affair with it. I thought the pacing was incredibly slow and had very uninteresting and unlikable characters taking up most of the screentime.

So you've never seen a film that was over 2 hours and yet could have stood to have a pointless scene or two cut out?

Not if i've enjoyed it, no.

If I complain that a movie is too long, I'm saying that there are unnecessary scenes or the pacing is slow

'Goodfellas' is 2hrs, 20 minutes long. 'The Godfather' is 2hrs, 58 minutes long. Is there anyone who would like some scenes cut out of it? If there are, i've never read/heard about it. Certainly there are movies that could have been improved by being edited down (likely due to Director over-indulgence or a half arsed story/script to begin with).

Al Pacino is ludicrous in this movie

Sure, if the later years Pacino over-acting tic bother you (and they do most, myself included) but I don't have fault with it in Heat. As you say, this acting style developed with 'Scent of a Woman' and then 'Heat' in that three year period (wedged in between is 'Carlito's Way' which is excellent and completely absent this development) so at that point there's nothing to be annoyed about. I never punished him for what he did next. If you want to sh!t on it having just now seen it 17 years after it's release, be my guest.

If you want to sh!t on it having just now seen it 17 years after it's release, be my guest.

Thanks, I will! I also think the shootout is loud and bombastic and features a million bullets for no interesting reason.

I liked most of the rest of it. I just found it jarring to go from De Niro doing a good job to Pacino shouting. And, like I say, suddenly having a thousand machine guns in the middle of the street didn't feel right. And I've seen Stormtroopers with better aim than these guys!

Just to chime in, I found the first Nolan Batman too cheesetastic an origin story to be that interesting, the second one quite excellent even with not having any idea how to handle Two-Face, and the third one a rather poor and stupidly haphazard film.

And speaking of long gangster films with Robert DeNiro, does anyone other than me positively love the 3:45 cut of Once Upon a Time in America? I think that film is brilliant.

I'm watching it right now, and I will happily deride it. Al Pacino is ludicrous in this movie. It's like somebody doing a bad Al Pacino imitation. This is post-Scent of a Woman Pacino and it really, really shows.

All Pacino scenery-chewing is secondary to him playing Satan in The Devil's Advocate. He doesn't chew, he swallows the scenery whole. It's beyond fantastic.

I also think the shootout is loud and bombastic and features a million bullets for no interesting reason.

To me, this was no amazing scene, but it is a action scene that critics and cinephiles constantly talk about ever since. The scale of it obviously impresses many. It's talked about in such ways, same as the car chase stuff in French Connection.

All Pacino scenery-chewing is secondary to him playing Satan in The Devil's Advocate. He doesn't chew, he swallows the scenery whole. It's beyond fantastic.

I thought about referencing The Devil's Advocate in my complaint about Pacino in Heat, but I decided that wouldn't be fair. He's shouty, but he's not that shouty. I mean, except for that "GREAT BIG ASS" scene.

Not going to be quickly found on Baseball-reference.com, feel free to Google if you like. Like I say, scene was never anything big thing for me, but for others.
Umm, that was kind of the point. It's not "overlong" because it's over 2 hours; it's overlong because it's over 2 hours AND has pointless/useless scenes that could have been cut.

Yes, Ray. You feel that way about 'Goodfellas', but you're the first person i've ever heard/read say it. I say this as someone who, likes/enjoyed it, watched it a fair amount of times in the first years it came out, and respects it. I have no personal affinity to it, unlike a good many people.

I thought it was very very entertaining, but not a brilliant film, I guess.

Many do though. 'Goodfellas' is generally mentioned/considered in the top three of Mafia movies ever made, of which we all know the planet devours (with The Godfather I & II. 'Scarface' and 'Mean Streets' two others usually in the top five) so it's gets much love that way. 'Goodfellas' like 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Fight Club' are often mentioned by people who grew up during this period as their favorite films. 'Goodfellas' gets a lot of miles. It's not a superior film, but I always enjoyed 'Casino' more, personally.

[647] I've read the first chapter of the book. My impression is that the film deviates significantly enough in structure (and structure is a key element of a metafictional work) that I don't think I'm going to be disappointed by having seen the film.

Also, I'm a sucker for metafiction -- I really enjoyed "If On A Winter's Night A Traveler", from which some inspiration was reportedly taken. Honestly, the movie felt like "If On A Winter's Night..." were crossed with "The Years Of Rice And Salt" by Kim Stanley Robinson.

Penalizing 'Unforgiven' because someone told you or you read someone calling it "groundbreaking" is odd. I believe someone said the same thing of 'Heat'. It's not very often you see 'Heat' not spoken of in glowing terms, let alone be derided. The fact you're disappointed that Mann didn't have DeNiro and Pacino be teamed up as both either Policeman or Bank-robbers is too bad, because you've let it ruin a really good movie for yourself. Surely you found 'Righteous Kill' to be infinitely more pleasing. It's a cop chasing a bank-robber, how many scenes do you expect there to be of the two of them together?

I wasn't penalizing Unforgiven for that. I was addressing the Oscar win, which was based in part on the movie being groundbreaking IMO. I liked Unforgiven, but it didn't blow me away.

That said, it can be hard to evaluate a movie in isolation and separate your feelings from the buzz surrounding it. That wasn't the case for me with Unforgiven, but it definitely happened with Saving Private Ryan.

All my relationships end when I make the lady sign a waiver indicating blanket immunity and permission if Susanna Hoffs ever accepts my invitation to spend a romantic weekend together... maybe it's because when the potential party to the agreement laughs, I remind them that this is a serious and binding legal document.

The "guest DJ's" on the satellite radio Sinatra channel tend to be people like Julius La Rosa and Jack Jones, but both Delany and Virginia Madsen have taken a turn at it, too. All I can figure is some darned attractive women could still have daddy issues.

I was addressing the Oscar win, which was based in part on the movie being groundbreaking IMO. I liked Unforgiven, but it didn't blow me away.

I don't recall it being said to be "groundbreaking" either. It got a lot of ink for being a serious portrayal/commentary on the very genre Eastwood build his own career on. And that it was to be his last Western he'd ever film and he'd had the script for over ten years and wanted to wait until he felt he'd aged enough to portray it on screen. It didn't blow me away either, but I thought it was a great film.

I haven't seen Once Upon a Time in America in a long time but I remember a young Jennifer Connelly in it. She used to be incredibly hot but something happened to her after she got married where she turned into a large head supported by sticks. Her choice in clothes on some talk shows didnt help either.

It got a lot of ink for being a serious portrayal/commentary on the very genre Eastwood build his own career on.

The "message" or meta part of the movie loses a little in that it's a movie commenting about violence in westerns, which then gives us a lot of really cool western violence. And so westerns just keep feeding that and getting darker and darker. (I've heard that of, but not seen the Proposition, and the AMC tv western Hell on Wheels is pretty dark as well.)

And so westerns just keep feeding that and getting darker and darker. (I've heard that of, but not seen the Proposition, and the AMC tv western Hell on Wheels is pretty dark as well.)

I wasn't aware of Westerns getting darker? There's so little of them made. 'The Proposition' i've never even heard of, i'll read up, hopefully it's great. 'Hell on Wheels' i've heard about because it's a ripoff of the incredible 'Deadwood'.

Not really a ripoff of Deadwood at all. I don't think they share a single attribute nor can I think of any similarity between the two outside of the female "lead" having her husband killed and the male lead falling in love with her.

Not really a ripoff of Deadwood at all. I don't think they share a single attribute nor can I think of any similarity between the two outside of the female "lead" having her husband killed and the male lead falling in love with her.

I'd read/heard here and there about it's similar music intro, similarities in characters, the main baddie guy speaking in soliloquy's/monologues same as Swearengen. Admittedly, I recalled incorrectly that it's not using a heavy amount of the 'Deadwood' actors such as 'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Justified' are doing. A Google search using only "Hell on Wheels Deadwood" bring up these on the 1st page.

This one from Alan Sepinwall who many consider the best TV critic of the last ten years and counting:

"Doc's propensity for speechifying - without somehow revealing anything interesting about himself - is one of many ways in which he unfortunately comes off as a poor man's Swearengen, and it's uncanny (and unfortunate) how many other elements of "Hell on Wheels" seem like cheap imitation "Deadwood." You have Cullen as the clenched, quick-to-anger hero, and not being as impressive at it as Seth Bullock. Filling the Alma Garret role as the fiercely independent recent widow who's destined to fall into bed with our clenched hero is Dominique McElligott as Lily Bell, whose surveyor husband dies in the premiere. (And unlike Alma, who was in a marriage of convenience and eager to move on, Lily is shown to be wildly in love with her husband, which makes her quick flirtation with Mr. Bohannon seem all the more forced.) Noonan's Reverend Cole makes a less favorable impression than did Deadwood preacher Reverend Smith(*), while the entrepenurial Irish brothers collectively add up to slightly less than one Sol Starr. In one episode, Durant even starts dictating wholly exaggerated and/or invented details of a news story to a credulous reporter, much as Swearengen so often did with Deadwood newspaperman A.W. Merrick."

Apparently people like it though, so that's good. Always good to have something of quality to see.

It got a lot of ink for being a serious portrayal/commentary on the very genre Eastwood build his own career on.

Right. It was touted as a new kind of western that had a more realistic and less romanticized view of the west, especially as compared to Eastwood's own movies. But, as noted, it still had some of the same cool western violence, so the message is a little muddled. Again, it was a good movie, just not great.

Saving Private Ryan had similar buzz. It was supposedly a new kind of war movie that was far more realistic and honest about the brutality of war. The opening sequence was different in that it was far more violent (and I assume realistic), but that was more a product of modern special effects and tolerance for movie violence than any insightful message. And the bulk of the movie is a by-the-numbers WWII movie filled with boring cliches (tough sergeant with a heart of gold, wise cracking Jewish guy from Brooklyn, bible quoting southern sharpshooter, etc.).

I haven't seen Once Upon a Time in America in a long time but I remember a young Jennifer Connelly in it. She used to be incredibly hot but something happened to her after she got married where she turned into a large head supported by sticks. Her choice in clothes on some talk shows didnt help either.

I really disagree. I saw her in Blood Diamond (decent but nothing special, just to make it seem like this post is still about movies) and was so struck by her beauty that I didn't even recognize her despite being super familiar with her. It was only when the end credits came on that I said "That was Jennifer Connelly? Holy crap she looks even more amazing than she usually does."

Speaking of Deadwood, I just started in on season 2 last night. The first two episodes were shockingly violent, even for as violent a show as Deadwood is. My buddy raves about the second season, says it's just about the best season of TV he's ever watched, so I'm pretty hyped.

More to the point, The Rocketeer features perhaps the most divine creature in the history of film: a 20-year-old Jennifer Connelly. Watching Connelly in Rocketeer, I was reminded of Brian Posehn's bit about how Kate Beckinsale possesses the kind of jaw-dropping beauty that makes him angry, since he could never hope to possess it, such that he felt like he was going to Hulk out and run amok due to sexual frustration.

...

In The Hot Spot and Career Opportunities, Connelly radiated the incandescent sexuality of a sex symbol. In The Rocketeer, she's the quintessential America's Sweetheart. Since Requiem For A Dream, she's become a frighteningly skinny doe-eyed waif who suffers disproportionately for humanity's sins in an endless series of downers, earning her ambiguous status as a thinking man's sex symbol. She's all things to all people.

I agree that she's just as beautiful now as she was 20 years ago. It's just a very different kind of beauty.

If you liked that, check out Severance. I think it's still on Netflix streaming, and it's good (though a little darker, and it plays its concept a bit straighter). Some very sly humor in that one. You'd probably also enjoy Cabin in the Woods.

Slither isn't nearly as good as Night of the Creeps, from which it stole 90% of its premise.

Goodfellas is excellent, and I don't understand this thread's mini-backlash against it.

It's a fine film, I just quibble with any list that puts it somewhere in the range of "best" of anything (decade, genre, whatever)... I also just don't care for Ray Liotta, though, yes - he was perfectly cromulent in it.

Jennifer Connelly of 20 years ago does not compare to the one I saw on a late night talk show that was way way too skinny and apparently she has had a breast reduction. I am more a Marion Collitard fan but Kate Beckinsdale is also quite stunning.

Connelly seems to be on a zero body fat mission so it wouldn't surprise me if she didn't get breast reduction surgery but simply lost them due to severe weight loss. Now of course being an older woman she might have had some surgery done to make her skin a little tighter and it is believed that she has had a nose job as well.

I loved Deadwood, but I tend to be be in the better a season too early than a season too late camp... I would have liked to see another season, but then I remember the train wrecks that became of beloved things like the X-files, Sopranos, The Office, etc as no one was ready to pull the plug.

In order for Deadwood to have gone longer they would have had to radically alter season two. Now then, Rome could have gone longer and they intended to have it go longer but had to radically alter season two to get everything into one season. Which was a shame.